() Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee as President Donald Trump weighs potential intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict.
The hearing is centered on reviewing the Pentagon’s proposed budget requests, though questioning is likely to turn toward the Middle East.
In addition to Hegseth, witnesses include Gen. Daniel Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, special assistant to the secretary of defense.
Trump weighs US involvement in Israel-Iran conflict
Trump has doubled down on his calls for Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” sparking pushback from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and lawmakers in the United States.
In a social media post, Khamenei warned: “The US entering in this matter [war] is 100% to its own detriment. The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter.”
Bipartisan lawmakers have shared concerns over the president’s position, and Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., criticized potential U.S. intervention Wednesday.
Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are working together on a resolution to prevent U.S. involvement in Iran without congressional approval.
